Tian Denghua planted her hands on her hips and glared fiercely at Aunt Ge. "What's wrong with our Yanyan's mouth? Go on, tell me!"
Aunt Ge shrank back, not daring to provoke the fiery Tian Denghua, and scurried away in defeat.
When Tian Denghua's husband passed away, Song Yanyan hadn't even been born yet. As a widow, Tian Denghua had to raise the three Song brothers—Song Risheng, Song Xingming, and the youngest—and life was unimaginably difficult.
At the time, the eldest, Song Risheng, was only eight years old, while the youngest, Song Xingming, was just three.
Not to mention, Tian Denghua was already pregnant with Song Yanyan, her husband's posthumous child.
If Tian Denghua hadn't been tough and fierce, how could she have managed to raise all four children properly?
Tian Denghua turned around and tugged discontentedly at Song Yanyan's fur collar, pulling it up to cover half of her face. She grumbled, "…You're the most restless one! Yesterday you were still bedridden, and today you're already running around again!"
Song Yanyan stuck out her tongue playfully.
She wouldn't feel at ease unless she saw with her own eyes that her eldest brother had sent away that jinx, Luo Jinyu.
After scolding Song Yanyan a few more times, Tian Denghua glanced outside and frowned. "I need to go to Shuiwang Gully. Your second brother went there to help the Zhai Family repair their roof, and he hasn't come back since the heavy snow started. Now that the snow has finally stopped, I'm going to check on him and see what's going on."
She turned to Qi Lian and reminded her, "Don't forget to feed the chickens later."
Song Yanyan eagerly escorted Tian Denghua out of the courtyard gate. "Be careful on the road, Mother."
Without looking back, Tian Denghua waved her hand and trudged away, her steps uneven in the snow.
Once Qi Lian saw her mother-in-law's figure disappear in the direction of Shuiwang Gully, she returned to the house and came out carrying a basket, clearly planning to go out.
But Song Yanyan reached out and stopped her.
Qi Lian looked evasive, her nervousness easy to see. "…Yanyan, I'll play with you later. Be good and stay home for now. I need to go out for a bit."
Song Yanyan knew exactly where Qi Lian was headed.
In her dream, after the Song family took in Luo Jinyu, Qi Lian secretly went to South Mountain to seek a Child-Bearing Talisman from the sorceress. She burned it to ashes, mixed it with water, and drank it.
After drinking it, Qi Lian suffered severe abdominal pain. Then, because Luo Jinyu forgot to close the chicken coop while feeding the chickens, the birds escaped and tripped Qi Lian… causing her to bleed on the spot.
Later, when the Song family hurriedly called a doctor, they learned that Qi Lian had been nearly two months pregnant.
Qi Lian and Song Risheng's first child was lost just like that…
Now that Song Yanyan knew how things would unfold, she was determined not to let it happen again.
With a bright smile, she stepped forward and linked arms with Qi Lian. "Sister-in-law, I still feel a bit dizzy… but calling the doctor again would be too much trouble. Why don't you come with me to see the doctor? I won't buy any medicine—just let him check my pulse."
Qi Lian hesitated for a moment, but seeing Song Yanyan clinging to her arm and acting sweet, her eyes full of affection, she remembered how she had quietly complained about Song Yanyan's expensive medicine when the girl was unconscious… and felt a little uneasy.
"Alright, I'll go with you," Qi Lian said, tightening her grip on the basket.
She comforted herself, thinking that since she hadn't conceived in three years, waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt. She could always find another chance to go to South Mountain and seek the talisman from the sorceress.
That is, she only had twenty copper coins on her, saved through scrimping and saving over a long time. This time, accompanying her sister-in-law to see the doctor, she wasn’t sure if it would be enough…
"Hehe, sister-in-law is so good to me." Song Yanyan smiled cheerfully, linking arms with Qi Lian as they headed toward the doctor’s house.
Along the way, Song Yanyan was secretly cautious, fearing her sister-in-law might slip on the road and have some accident.
Zhaoyou Village, where the Song family lived, was a modest-sized village at the foot of Qi Mountain. The village doctor was surnamed Ding, and his medical skills were decent. People from several nearby villages would come to Doctor Ding for minor ailments like headaches or fevers.
As Song Yanyan and Qi Lian arrived, a hunter dressed in hunting gear happened to walk out of Doctor Ding’s small courtyard, carrying a packet of medicine.
The hunter walked with a limp, and Song Yanyan glanced at him, which reminded her of another matter.
In her dream, not long after Luo Jinyu was taken in by the Song family, Song Yanyan went to gather some dry firewood near the foot of the mountain to store at home and asked Luo Jinyu to go with her.
While chasing a rabbit, the two ended up in a hidden mountain hollow.
There, they encountered a young man who was unconscious with a leg injury.
Song Yanyan and Luo Jinyu bandaged his wound and tied a few strips of cloth to a tree by the official road as a marker.
When the young man asked for their names, Luo Jinyu first said her name was Luo Jinyu, then covered her mouth as if she had spoken carelessly, saying something about how they had only helped in passing, not expecting any reward, and there was no need to remember their names.
Finally, under the young man’s admiring gaze, Luo Jinyu pulled Song Yanyan away with long strides.
At first, Song Yanyan didn’t think much of it, but later, by chance, she learned that the young man was actually the son of a high-ranking official in the prefectural city!
Later, unable to bear the poverty of the Song family, Luo Jinyu secretly ran off to the prefectural city and encountered the young man again. He said he wanted to repay the life-saving favor and helped Luo Jinyu a great deal… but that was all in the future.
Song Yanyan suddenly had an idea.
…
Doctor Ding took Song Yanyan’s pulse and marveled, "Little girl, you’ve recovered quite quickly."
"Probably because I’m strong and healthy," Song Yanyan said, pulling Qi Lian over and extending her hand toward Doctor Ding. "Doctor, I think my sister-in-law looks a bit unwell. Could you please check her too?"
Qi Lian was a bit confused. She glanced at Song Yanyan and tried to pull her hand back, but Song Yanyan held it tightly, and Qi Lian couldn’t free it.
Besides, Doctor Ding was already preparing to take her pulse, so Qi Lian gave up resisting in a daze.
Doctor Ding placed two fingers on Qi Lian’s wrist, carefully feeling her pulse for a while before withdrawing his hand and smiling. "Congratulations."
…
Tian Denghua was so angry her face turned ashen. She stormed in like a whirlwind, pushing aside the door curtain and entering the room.
Song Yueping, the second son of the Song family, hung his head and followed Tian Denghua into the room, looking utterly dejected.
Seeing Song Yanyan and Qi Lian sitting on the kang, Tian Denghua couldn’t help complaining to them, "…I just don’t know how I raised such a foolish son! Eagerly going to repair someone else’s roof, getting stuck in the snow and unable to return home for three whole days, staying in their woodshed the whole time—I really, I really get angry just thinking about it!"
Song Yueping hunched his shoulders and couldn't help muttering in defense, "Mom, it's not exactly like that. After all, Cuihong and I aren't officially engaged yet…"
Tian Denghua grew even angrier at this. She turned around and slapped Song Yueping hard on the back twice: "So you do know you're not engaged! If you're not engaged, why are you so eager to go fix their roof?!… Their roof is in such bad shape—aren't you afraid of falling off while repairing it?! Why didn't Zhai Cuihong ask her brother to fix it?!—Fine, even if you say her brother can't do it and you have to, I'll let that slide. But on such a cold day, why didn't they let you stay in the same room as Zhai Cuihong's brother? Instead, they made you sleep in the woodshed?! On such a cold day! They don't care if it's not someone from the Zhai family sleeping in the woodshed, do they?!… She didn't mention you weren't engaged when she asked you to fix the roof, but when it came to staying overnight, she suddenly remembered you weren't engaged and made you sleep in the woodshed!"